RSA Full Form

RSA full form is Rivet, Shamir, Adleman who were the founders of the RSA algorithm used to encrypt confidential data that are transmitted over the internet. Use of this algorithm helps in transferring sensitive or confidential data across the internet securely. This system got its name from the initial letters of its three founders Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman. Basically public key cryptography which is popularly termed asymmetric cryptography uses private and public keys. Private keys as the name suggests are highly confidential and are not shared, on the contrary public keys remain visible to everyone. 

What is RSA Full Form?

As already mentioned, RSA full form is Rivet, Shaman, and Adleman and is used to secure crypto transactions. The encryption key in the public-key cryptosystem remains public whereas the decryption key is kept private. When using the RSA, users have to create and publish a public key that comprises two prime numbers and an auxiliary number. 

Well, prime numbers need to be kept private; otherwise security breaches can distress the user. Though anyone will be able to encrypt the message; however, for decrypting, decoding requires one to know the prime numbers. Generally, it is said that RSA is slow, and that's the reason it is not widely adopted for encrypting data. 

Overview of RSA

Tracing the Origin of RSA

The origin of the RSA system can be traced back to 1976 when the concept of asymmetric public-private keys came into existence. Its first discovery can be owed to Martin Hellman and Whitfield Diffie. They started introducing digital signatures and were the first to try applying number theory. They adopted a shared secret key that originated from the exponentiation of a number, mainly a prime number; however, lack of knowledge in factoring such numbers rendered it impossible to continue the study further. 

Well, three students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman, and later the system was named after them. Computer scientists Rivet and Shamir along with mathematician Adleman attempted to formulate a cryptosystem key system through permutation polynomial and knapsack-based. For a certain point in time, they found it to be a complete failure; however, in the strange phase of events, Rivest staged applying a one-way function that finally led to the creation of what we popularly know now call the RSA system.

Understanding the Application of RSA

RSA being a public key encryption method possesses a wide array of unique features that help it work effectively. If you want to work on this algorithm, follow the below-mentioned steps to fully utilise its benefits.

First step: RSA Modulus Generation

In the first stage, users are required to select two prime numbers which can be denoted as p and q. Following the selection, calculations need to be carried out to get the product denoted as N

Hence

N= p*q

N represents a specified large number

Second step: Derived number

Let's take e as a derived number that must be larger than 1 but less than (p-1) and (q-1). The user needs to ensure that (p-1) & (q-1) must not have any common factor other than 1.

Third step: Public key

The pair numbers of n and e are treated as the RSA public key and it is made public by the encrypter.

Fourth Step: Private Key

Users can calculate the private key denoted by d from p, q and e. Therefore, the relationship can be represented as ed= 1 mod(p-1) (q-1).

What Are the Major Uses of RSA Encryption?

RSA encryption is widely used in digital signatures, emails and securing connections between VPN servers and VPN clients. Well, you cannot make use of this algorithm for encrypting an entire file or message as it is not much efficient and is more resource-heavy compared to symmetric key encryption. 

Basically, to ensure better security, a field is first encrypted with a symmetric-key algorithm following which RSA encryption is done. The decryption of a symmetric key can only be performed by a user who has access to the RSA private key. Unless the user can access the symmetric key, the file cannot be decrypted. Many use this method to eliminate any incidents of security beaches without using a lot of computational resources. 

RSA encryptions are widely adopted in systems like OpenSSL, cryptlib and many cryptographic libraries. A lot of secured communication we use today has used RSA for establishing a secure connection, its use in TLS is significant.

Properties of RSA

RSA was invented to make data transmission through the internet secure. This system uses public and private keys whereby anyone can encrypt data; however, for decrypting open ends to decode the prime numbers. Here are some of the properties upon which the RSA works.

• RSA makes use of factoring problems and prime numbers.
• It helps in transferring shared keys that are used for symmetric-key cryptography.
• It works on a public and private key encryption system.
• RSA is a pretty slow yet effective method to secure data transmission.
• It keeps data transmission safe and secured over the internet.

How Does an RSA Work?

As you are now aware that this algorithm enables encrypting and decrypting data by using prime numbers and factorial problems hence it is crucial to understand the working of RSA. There are mainly four steps which are key generation, key distribution, encryption and decryption that help in securing data transmission.

Key Generation

RSA operations begin by generating a key, two prime numbers are taken into account in this process. Users should never reveal the chosen numbers as they form part of a private key. Suppose the two numbers are represented as p and q, then it is computed as n=p*q, and the n is taken as the modulus for both private and public keys.

Key Distribution

When sending messages or files, the sender must share the public key with the receiver. The distribution of public keys is conducted through a reliable route and is not necessarily kept private. 

Encryption and Decryption

The last step of encryption and decryption is carried out by taking the assistance of the first step when a public and private key is generated. To decrypt data users need to use their own private key, while encryption is done through a public key which is sharable.

Benefits and Limitations of RSA

RSA full-form is Rivest-Shamir-Adleman which is formed by the initials of its inventors. It is an algorithm that secures data transmission. Let's take a dive into the benefits and limitations of this cryptographic algorithm.

Benefits:

• Distribution or sharing of the public to consumers or message receivers is pretty simple.
• Implantation of the RSA algorithm can be done quickly without using too many computational resources.
• This system uses the most reliable and secure technique of transferring sensitive data over the internet.

Limitations:

• The decryption process is quite hefty and challenging as it requires intensive processing by the receiver.
• To encrypt data, it is crucial to adopt both symmetric and asymmetric encryption methods but RSA uses asymmetric encryption which at times results in inconsistencies.
• To validate the public key, often a third party seems necessary.

Therefore, it can be said that undoubtedly RSA safeguards the security of data when they are transmitted via the internet, however, certain limitations restrict its use in several spheres.